POWER PLUS OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE APPALACHIAN REGION OF NYS WHITE PAPER

Transcription

1 April 2016 William Cherry, President Stephen J. Acquario, Executive Director POWER PLUS OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE APPALACHIAN REGION OF NYS WHITE PAPER April 2016 NYSAC 1

2 POWER PLUS OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE APPALACHIAN REGION OF NEW YORK STATE The United States is undergoing a rapid energy production shift, changing the way electricity is generated and used across the country. Due to booming natural gas production, declining costs of renewable energy, increases in energy efficiency, and the flattening of electricity demands, these trends are producing cleaner air, healthier communities, and spurring new jobs and industries nationwide. This change comes at a cost in places like the Appalachian Region, where workers and communities rely on the coal industry as a source of steady employment and economic prosperity. President Barack Obama has proposed the POWER Plus (POWER+) Plan to help communities adapt to the changing energy landscape. The POWER+ Plan invests more than $55 million in funding for job training, job creation, economic diversification, and other economic efforts in communities that have experienced layoffs due to the declining coal industry. According to The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), the Appalachian Region includes a 205,000-square-mile swath that follows the spine of the Appalachian Mountains from southern New York to northern Mississippi. It includes all of West Virginia and parts of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia. The region does not have a legal geographic boundary, but is united through shared history, culture, economic drivers and environment within and surrounding the mountains of eastern North America. 2 NYSAC April 2016

3 New York s Appalachian region encompasses the entire Southern Tier of the state. These 14 counties include Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, and Allegany County in the Western Region, Steuben, Schuyler, and Chemung County in the Central Region, and Tompkins, Tioga, Cortland, Broome, Chenango, Otsego, Delaware, and Schoharie County in the Eastern Region. A list of the towns in each county is provided on pages 6-8. The Appalachian Region s economy, once highly dependent on mining, forestry, agriculture, chemical industries, and heavy industry, has become more diversified in recent times. The region s coal industry has been on a steady decline since the early 1980s, especially in central Appalachia. Kentucky had an estimated 41,000 jobs in the coal industry in 1983 while in 2012 had only 24,100. Similarly in West Virginia, where in 1983 there were 38,000 jobs compared to 2012 with only 16,900. April 2016 NYSAC 3

4 There were 7 power plants operating on coal combustion in 2010, 3 of which were located within New York s Appalachian region. These plants were Cayuga Power Station in Lansing (Tompkins County), Dunkirk Generating Station in Dunkirk (Chautauqua County), and Westover Power Station in Johnson City (Broome County). Cayuga Power Station is the only currently active coal plant after the Dunkirk Generating Station was idled on December 31, 2015 and Westover Power Station was retired in In 2013, only 3.5% of the generated electricity of the state came from coal while the majority came from natural gas (39.2%), nuclear (33.1%), and hydroelectric (18.6%) production. In comparison to the rest of the Appalachian Region, New York s Appalachian municipalities experience greater economic prosperity and job diversification due the state s overall strong and diverse job market. President Obama s POWER+ Plan includes unprecedented investments in the health and retirement security for mineworkers and their families and the accelerated clean-up of hazardous coal abandoned mine lands. The plan also provides new tax incentives to support continued technology development and deployment of carbon capture, utilization and sequestration technologies. The FY 2016 Budget provides $20 million specifically to support workers dislocated from coal mines and coal-fired power plants through grants provided by the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Dislocated Workers National Reserve. The Budget also provides $25 million for the ARC which will be directed to Appalachian communities most affected by coal economy transition and will support a range of economic development planning and implementation activities. These will include 4 NYSAC April 2016

5 developing entrepreneurial ecosystems, facilitate access to capital investments and new markets, and will address barriers related to adequate water, sewer, and telecommunication infrastructure. USDA Rural Development is provided $12 million for Rural Economic Development (RED) grants through the Budget and the Environmental Protection Agency will be provided $5 million designated exclusively for AWP grants targeted to communities affected by the retirement of coal-fired power plants. In order to address the increase of coal mines in communities with previously coal driven economies, the Budget makes available to States and Tribes $1 billion, over 5 years, from the unappropriated balance of the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund, administered by the Department of Interior s Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE). The funding would be used for the reclamation of abandoned coal mine land sites and associated polluted waters in a manner that promotes sustainable redevelopment in economically distressed coal country communities. Another $2 billion will be provided by the Budget in refundable investment tax credits to new and retrofitted electric generating units (EGUs) that deploy carbon capture technology. The Appalachian Region has and will continue to be affected by the transition from coal, and it is necessary to provide communities with the proper resources and funding to stay economically vibrant. This is especially true for New York State communities that are part of the Appalachian Region and have seen the effect of this transition through closures of power stations that have been powering New York with electricity for generations. The POWER+ plan will make $19.6 million in grants available through the Economic Development Administration (EDA) and another $45 million in grants available through the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). There are no submission deadlines under POWER+ and pre-application proposals are accepted and reviewed on an ongoing basis. To submit a pre-application to apply for this funding, please visit For the complete funding announcement of the POWER+ Plan visit power/power2016funds. Contacts: Wendy Wasserman, Appalachian Regional Commission, wwasserman@arc.gov Jill Luther, NYSAC Program Administrator, jluther@nysac.org Dede Scozzafava, Governor s Representative for the Appalachian Regional Commission localgov@dos.ny.gov April 2016 NYSAC 5

6 COUNTIES AND TOWNS OF NEW YORK STATE S APPALACHIAN REGION SOUTHERN TIER WESTERN REGION Chautauqua Cities: Jamestown; Dunkirk Arkwright Busti Carroll Charlotte Chautauqua Cherry Creek Clymer Dunkirk Ellery Ellicott Ellington French Creek Gerry Hanover Harmony Kiantone Mina North Harmony Poland Pomfret Portland Ripley Sheridan Sherman Stockton Villenova Westfield Cattaraugus Cities: Olean; Salamanca Allegany Ashford Carrollton Coldspring Conewango Dayton East Otto Ellicottville Farmersville Franklinville Freedom Great Valley Hinsdale Humphrey Ischua Leon Little Valley Lyndon Machias Mansfield Napoli New Albion Olean Otto Perrysburg Persia Portville Randolph Red House Salamanca South Valley Yorkshire 6 NYSAC April 2016

7 Allegany Cities: Jamestown; Dunkirk Alfred Allen Alma Almond Amity Andover Angelica Belfast Birdsall Bolivar Burns Caneadea Centerville Clarksville Cuba Friendship Genesee Granger Grove Hume Independence New Hudson Rushford Scio SOUTHERN TIER CENTRAL REGION Steuben Cities: Corning; Hornell Schuyler Chemung City: Elmira Addison Avoca Bath Bradford Cameron Campbell Canisteo Caton Cohocton Hornellsville Howard Jasper Lindley Prattsburgh Pulteney Rathbone Thurston Troupsburg Catharine Cayuta Dix Hector Montour Orange Reading Tyrone Ashland Baldwin Big Flats Catlin Chemung Elmira Erin Corning Tuscarora Horseheads Dansville Urbana Veteran Erwin Wayland Southport Fremont Wayne Van Etten Greenwood West Union Hartsville Wheeler Hornby Woodhull April 2016 NYSAC 7

8 SOUTHERN TIER EAST REGION Tompkins Tioga Cortland City: Ithaca City: Cortland Broome City: Binghamton Chenango City: Norwich Caroline Barton Cincinnatus Barker Afton Danby Berkshire Cortlandville Binghamton Bainbridge Dryden Candor Cuyler Chenango Columbus Enfield Newark Freetown Colesville Coventry Groton Valley Harford Conklin German Ithaca Nichols Homer Dickinson Greene Lansing Owego Lapeer Fenton Guilford Newfield Richford Marathon Kirkwood Lincklaen Ulysses Spencer Preble Lisle McDonough Tioga Scott Maine New Berlin Solon Nanticoke North Norwich Taylor Sanford Norwich Truxton Triangle Otselic Otsego City: Oneonta Virgil Willet Union Vestal Windsor Oxford Pharsalia Pitcher Plymouth Burlington Butternuts Cherry Valley Decatur Hartwick Laurens Maryland Middlefield New Lisbon Oneonta Otego Otsego Richfield Roseboom Springfield Unadilla Preston Sherburne Smithville Smyrn Edmeston Milford Pittsfield Westford Exeter Morris Plainfield Worcester Delaware Schoharie Andes Bovina Colchester Davenport Delhi Deposit Franklin Hamden Hancock Harpersfield Kortright Masonville Meredith Middletown Roxbury Sidney Stamford Tompkins Walton Blenheim Broome Carlisle Cobleskill Conesville Esperance Fulton Gilboa Jefferson Middleburgh Richmondville Schoharie Seward Sharon Summit 8 NYSAC April 2016